The Salvation Army learned lessons in the heat of summer that precipitated a change in tactics during the cold of winter.
It鈥檚 using the science of hope to fill gaps for people who need help, turning vicious cycles into virtuous circles.
The change from offering a menu of options A, B or C was forged during recent summer fires when the Salvation Army鈥檚 Emergency Disaster Services were helping out, which it has done often.
To provide assistance during the fires, the Salvation Army had received two $100,000 grants -- from the Central Okanagan Foundation and the Interior Realtors Association -- donations of $100,000 from the community and monetary assistance from its head office, said Capt. Jennifer Henson.
鈥淥ne fellow said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 need help with rent or food, I just need to be able to buy welding equipment so I can go back to work,鈥 said Henson, who, with husband, Rob, is co-pastor of the Central Okanagan Salvation Army, an amalgamation of the Westside and 黑料社入口 churches.
鈥淲e went, 鈥榯hat鈥檚 a no-brainer.鈥 Here鈥檚 a few thousand dollars to buy your gear.鈥
With that insight, other fire victims were asked: 鈥渨hat would be the most impactful way we can support you?鈥 and discovered many people didn鈥檛 need help with groceries or rent, but with equipment they lost.
鈥淭hat made us think, 鈥榠f this is what helped people during the fires, what if we did this all the time?鈥欌 Henson said.
They switched from the ABC model that had forced everyone to chose from a menus of three options to a la carte menu.
鈥淭hey make suggestions and we provide the means to help them get to their goal.鈥
That simple switch produced a transformational change, in the local Salvation Army and in the people it helps.
That spinning spiral from vicious cycle to virtuous circle is not only good for the clients but also the community.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an exponential return on investment of our time and resources. We are able to share with people in such a way they experience the abundance and when they are on their feet again, continue sharing with others.鈥
Remember that Chinese proverb? Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.鈥
The Salvation Army鈥檚 old method was stimulus-response. People asked for help; the Salvation Army provided it. They gave fish. Now, they are giving people the equivalent of fishing lessons.
鈥淭he challenges of the day are changing and so must the way we respond to those challenges.鈥
She is in touch with other Salvation Army churches and other non-profits making a similar shift and sharing best practices.
鈥淥ur goal ultimately is that folks will be self-sustaining and not need help.鈥
That gives hope to the client, and to the caseworkers who see the changes.
The Hope Formula the Salvation Army uses was laid out by Shane Lopez in his book, Making Hope Happen. It has three parts: Goals+Agency+Pathways.
Lopez said in an interview on You Tube that hope is 鈥渢he belief that the future will be better than the present, along with the belief that you have the power to make it so. Hope is the domino that knocks over the happy domino in life,鈥 said Lopez, who was the leading researcher on the subject.
Henson and her people adopted the GAP model and created a program called Pathways to Hope, a path May Popham has walked 鈥 and is now helping others do the same thing.
鈥淲e were flying high one minute and down to rags the next,鈥 said Popham, who came to Canada from South Africa with her husband and son five years ago. 鈥淲e were well established in South Africa, but we had to leave the country with nothing except our suitcases.鈥
While Popham and her husband, Mark, had to start over, they soon had good paying jobs, which they both lost around the same time, turning their new, safe world, upside down.
鈥淚 was a property manager, on contract, for four companies and was earning good money. Life was good.鈥 Until it wasn鈥檛.
鈥淭hose were trying times. We had no savings and nothing to fall back on.鈥
While she was embarrassed to ask for help and worried about being judged, she called the Salvation Army, not really expecting help. 鈥淚 was surprised. They welcomed us with open arms. We only needed help for a short period, but it made such a big difference.鈥
Popham thinks many people who have lost high-paying jobs don鈥檛 think the Salvation can, or will, help, but she wants the community to know it鈥檚 there for everyone, no matter their economic class.
鈥淚t wants to change the way the community thinks about them: that they are not just for the poor and desperate. Whether you鈥檝e gone from riches to rags they, they will help you.
I didn鈥檛 want to come, but I took a chance. They鈥檙e flexible and accomplishing and listen to your story and what your needs are.鈥
She is glad she did because not only did she get the help she needed, she was hired as its retail floor supervisor.
鈥淚 have a job I鈥檓 so happy with. My miracle story. They didn鈥檛 judge me and that was important to me.鈥
The Salvation Army gave her hope, the choice to make her decisions, and the help and encouragement to achieve them.
It helped her bridge the gap between where she was and where she wanted to be.